Richard II

Manhood, Youth, and Politics 1377-99

Nonfiction, History, British, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Richard II by Christopher Fletcher, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christopher Fletcher ISBN: 9780191615733
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: October 7, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Christopher Fletcher
ISBN: 9780191615733
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: October 7, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Richard II (1377-99) has long suffered from an unusually unmanly reputation. Over the centuries, he has been habitually associated with lavish courtly expenditure, absolutist ideas, Francophile tendencies, and a love of peace, all of which have been linked to the king's physical effeminacy. Even sympathetic accounts have essentially retained this picture, merely dismissing particular facets of it, or representing Richard's reputation as evidence of praiseworthy dissent from accepted norms of masculinity. Christopher Fletcher takes a radically different approach, setting the politics of Richard II's reign firmly in the context of late medieval assumptions about the nature of manhood and youth. This makes it possible not only to understand the agenda of the king's critics, but also to suggest a new account of his actions. Far from being the effeminate tyrant of historical imagination, Richard was a typical young nobleman, trying to establish his manhood, and hence his authority to rule, by thoroughly conventional means; first through a military campaign, and then, fatally, through violent revenge against those who attempted to restrain him. The failure of Richard's subjects to support this aspiration produced a sequence of conflicts with the king, in which his opponents found it convenient to ascribe to him the conventional faults of youth. These critiques derived their force not from the king's real personality, but from the fit between certain contemporary assumptions about youth, effeminacy, and masculinity on the one hand, and the actions of Richard's government, constrained by difficult and complex circumstances, on the other.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Richard II (1377-99) has long suffered from an unusually unmanly reputation. Over the centuries, he has been habitually associated with lavish courtly expenditure, absolutist ideas, Francophile tendencies, and a love of peace, all of which have been linked to the king's physical effeminacy. Even sympathetic accounts have essentially retained this picture, merely dismissing particular facets of it, or representing Richard's reputation as evidence of praiseworthy dissent from accepted norms of masculinity. Christopher Fletcher takes a radically different approach, setting the politics of Richard II's reign firmly in the context of late medieval assumptions about the nature of manhood and youth. This makes it possible not only to understand the agenda of the king's critics, but also to suggest a new account of his actions. Far from being the effeminate tyrant of historical imagination, Richard was a typical young nobleman, trying to establish his manhood, and hence his authority to rule, by thoroughly conventional means; first through a military campaign, and then, fatally, through violent revenge against those who attempted to restrain him. The failure of Richard's subjects to support this aspiration produced a sequence of conflicts with the king, in which his opponents found it convenient to ascribe to him the conventional faults of youth. These critiques derived their force not from the king's real personality, but from the fit between certain contemporary assumptions about youth, effeminacy, and masculinity on the one hand, and the actions of Richard's government, constrained by difficult and complex circumstances, on the other.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Ageing: A Very Short Introduction by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book When Human Rights Clash at the European Court of Human Rights by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book The Baptized Muse by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Mental Health and Care Homes by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Blackstone's Handbook of Cyber Crime Investigation by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Blackstone's Employment Law Practice 2012 by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Homer's Allusive Art by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Taking Chances by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Disrupt and Deny by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book The Reader in the Book by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book King Solomon's Mines by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of the Victorian Novel by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book Employment Law Checklists 2009 by Christopher Fletcher
Cover of the book The GPVTS Guide to Success by Christopher Fletcher
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy